Why Corporate Directors Are Accountable To Their Shareholders.Corporate directors, boards, and executive officers are under greater scrutiny than ever before by shareholders, regulators, and prosecutors and must exercise an even higher degree of care in conducting the affairs of a company. To be proactive, corporate directors need to minimize acompanys ethical liabilities and maximize its ethical assets by: recognizing the companys need to manage corporate ethics, and the dangers oftaking it for granted supporting management to prevent or protect against unethical activities developing strategies to raise the ethical standard in the organization andbuild trust as a competitive advantage. Directors
Directors are essentially guardians of a firm,charged with overseeing management to ensure that a firms business isconducted with a sound strategy and prudence. Directors have a responsibility to pursue corporate ethics below thesurface. Directors and managers are focused on the integrity of their controls and their public reporting as never before. Directors should periodically receive information regarding comparative analyses of various strategic options, possible acquisition targets and the merger activity of competitors. Directors serving on multiple boards reported significant variations in the quality of the risk dialogue and fewer boards seem to have well established risk processes. Company Use your board of directors descriptions as an opportunity to demonstrate your good business judgment by making it clear how each member will positively impact the company. If, for example, you own a small technology company but don't have any marketing experience, search for board members who can provide that help. Create a chart to determine the kind of talent needed to move your company ahead. As a steward of the companys interests, the board shouldinsist upon the establishment of systems and structures designed to reduceagency risks and nip problems in the bud. No matter how trustworthy, ethical or well-intentioned yourCEO may be, it is naive and bordering on negligent to accept their word at facevalue when they tell you that the companys ethics are in good shape. Can someone describe the companys approach to ethicsother than in broad philosophical terms. What are the companys objectives forthe coming year(s) with regard to ethics management. Senior officials of the SEC will review securities law provisions that are particularly relevant to corporate directors. " We focus on the contours of the major questions and debates as they have played out in the most recent work: who are top managers and corporate directors, how is management organized, what does the board do, how do shareholders influence corporations, do top managers make a difference, how do corporations shape society. |